Chicago Sandy

Once you've entered the VIN into syncmyride.com, next time you get in the car it should show up onscreen. If you have nav., you can even set favorite destinations from your computer; your car's SYNC system will get them by satellite from the syncmyride site.

AFAIK, SYNC connects to *proprietary* closed-network mobile wireless via satellite--it is NOT a cellular ISP like your smartphone but rather more like a standalone GPS unit or satellite radio. (Analogously, you can't get "wi-fi" or mobile broadband through your Garmin or an XM receiver). You can plug a USB wireless network modem into your 3G-equipped web-enabled mobile device, which you could then plug into your car's USB port and stream internet audio---but ONLY if you have a contract for mobile broadband with the maker of that USB modem AND you are in the coverage area. A regular Linksys-type USB wi-fi (as opposed to moblie broadband) is useless on the go, unless you actually are within range of an OPEN conventional wi-fi network (or one for which you have the login info). If you want to give the kids internet access, buy a cellular carrier's mobile-broadband hotspot or USB modem for their laptop, or tether an internet-enabled phone to it. But be prepared to lose signal as you drive out of the coverage area.

For most of us here, this is a tempest in a teapot--the SYNC system comes with HD capability, which can easily be switched off to receive std. FM signal. Nobody "induced" most new Ford owners to buy an add-on HD radio. Furthermore, anyone who didn't know HD radio was a marketing term for digital radio was living under a rock--reminds me of the lawsuits by people suing weather forecasters for mis-forecasting, or against various sweepstakes because old people bought stuff they didn't need because they believed it was necessary to win (even though the rules made it clear that they didn't have to). Fraud is one thing, but gullibility to puffery is quite another.

Hi! Just bought a 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid yesterday, so am new to SYNC. Getting the hang of most of it, but have come a cropper over Sirius vs. the longtime XM subscription I had in my 2002 Ford Taurus--more on that in another thread.